


The Talk

by Aoilovesfood



Series: Double the Trouble [12]
Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Confrontations, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Forbidden Love, Heavy Angst, Love Confessions, Love Triangles, Mistakes, Punishment, Regret, Rivalry, Talking, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 21:10:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,977
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21022316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aoilovesfood/pseuds/Aoilovesfood
Summary: Sometimes things are better left unsaid.





	The Talk

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my fellow readers! Sorry, this is a late Sunday update. I normally have my best friend proof this for me, but I think its time I give her a break! So sorry if there are a few mess-ups. I hope this came out well. Let me know what you think!
> 
> Enjoy! See you next Sunday!

The hall was deathly silent. Byleth was standing before Lady Rhea and Seteth, twirling her fingers behind her back. She had a strong suspicion as to why she was summoned here, but she did not dare to start apologizing. Perhaps she was there for another reason? But this silence was making Byleth sweat, the longer he sat there with his eyes closed pushed her closer and closer to screaming. Lady Rhea sighed heavily, shaking her head as well.

“Seteth, I think that we have endured this silence long enough,” she said impatiently, “You are making this much harder than it seems.” Seteth finally opened his eyes, which pierced straight through Byleth’s calm demeanor. The hairs on her skin began to dance from the slight trembling her body was giving off. He took a deep breath.

“Professor Byleth, do you know why we have summoned you here?” Byleth’s mouth was dry. She swallowed hard before replying.

“I might have an idea…”

“Hopefully this refreshes your memory. Are you aware that two of your students have been in the infirmary for almost a week now?”

“Yes, I am painfully aware.”

“I heard that there were some damages to the training grounds and that the pavement may need to be repaired.”

“Is that so?” Byleth did her best to not make eye contact with Seteth. He was very persistent.

“And also although Claude threw that unexpected feast in which everyone was pretty much present a few students had mentioned that Felix stormed into the dining hall yelling for Claude.” Something clicked in Byleth’s head.

‘So that’s why everyone was gone. He threw the feast to distract them,’ she thought to herself. She could see that Seteth wasn't finished.

“Momentarily after that, no one had seen the two for the rest of the night. And no one could tell me of your whereabouts. Do you see where I am headed?”

“Well, I suppose I do…”

“Seteth, how long do you plan on torturing the professor?” Lady Rhea asked sternly. Seteth cleared his voice.

“As you wish, did you know that this was going to happen?” 

“Know what exactly?” Byleth asked.

“Did you know about Claude’s scheme to throw a feast to hide the fight between them?” Byleth took a deep sigh of relief.

“I wish I did. I had no idea what was happening.” Seteth and Lady Rhea looked at each other. He returned his stare to Byleth.

“Can you tell me your whereabouts on that day?” The air around Byleth became thinner. She didn't know what to say. How could she validate her activities if no one saw her? Sothis rang in her head.

“They seem to be fishing for an answer. Just relax and tell them the truth, we will have to see how it goes from there,” she said. Byleth bit her lip. She knew that Sothis was right, she didn't want to admit it. She looked at both of them.

“I woke up that morning, ate some oatmeal, and graded the homework that I assigned for class. That took me a while to do since it was thought-provoking homework. I took a short nap after because the oatmeal filled me up, and then I went for a brief walk. When I got outside of my room I saw that no one was around and I was very confused, then I had seen a dark cloud about the training grounds. When I got there I saw…” she closed her eyes, hoping that the image in her head would disappear It only intensified. “I tried to stop them before...I was too late…” 

“Professor…” Lady Rhea sighed sympathetically. Seteth was unmoved.

“Although it is very unfortunate, the story does not seem to fully align with Claude and Felix’s story.” Byleth’s eyes shot open. She hadn't realized that he might have gotten to them already. Claude was only up a few times so she barely got to talk to him. Felix was still asleep every time she came to see them. Either he had just woken up recently or he faked sleeping whenever she came around. She was slightly irritated, but for now, anxiety filled her body.

“Wh-what?”

“From what we were told, Claude said that you were asleep the whole time. That he used a sleeping powder and put you to sleep so that you would not interfere. Felix attested to that because Claude told him that you were indisposed of and that you would not stop them from fighting.” Byleth swallowed hard again. She knew what he was going to say next. “The act of forcibly a professor out of commission against their will is an easy grounds of expulsion. But for some reason, you seem  to want to hide that from us. I understand that he is your student, but they are also growing adults. Even if he is the next Duke, he cannot go around drugging others for his gain.” Byleth shook her head quickly.

“No, no, no. You are mistaken. He did not drug me. Yes, the action was there but I did see him tamper with it. I did not ingest the drug. I did make him believe that I did so that he would understand that something like that shouldn't be used towards his friends and allies. I pretended to be asleep and then after he left I decided to grade the papers. Everything else was still true,” she blurted out. Seteth and Lady Rhea were shocked by her sudden switch of attitude. Seteth wasn't biting.

“Even if that were true, why would you go straight to grading papers? Why not confront him?”

“If I immediately went after him after faking it, he wouldn't have truly regretted his actions! So I just decided I would hide in my room for a while before heading out. And when I did… I realized what was happening… I swear to you-”

“That’s quite alright, professor. I think that we have heard enough for now,” Lady Rhea stopped Byleth from speaking. She could sense truth behind Byleth’s words. “We will discuss this further and summon you again when we have come to a decision.”

“Lady Rhea? I wasn't-” Seteth started to speak. Lady Rhea shook her head.

“That’s enough for today. The professor seems pretty exhausted. Manuela has told me all that she knows from the situation and it lines up with what she has just told us. There is nothing more that we need from her right now. Professor,” she nodded her head, dismissing Byleth. “You may leave now. Thank you for your time.” Byleth bowed hurriedly before hastily making it out of the chamber room. She could hear Seteth barking away as the doors shut behind her. She was confused, frustrated, tired and happy all at the same time. Standing before the hound always made her uneasy, even with the calm presence of the Archbishop. Her next course of action was clear. She headed straight down the hall to the infirmary where her two wounded students resided. 

* * * * *

“You know she’s going to find out right?” Claude spoke aloud to Felix. Rhea had stopped by to inform them that she and Seteth would be speaking to the professor later on that day. Felix was staring at the ceiling lying in the infirmary bed. 

“Find out what?” He asked unbothered. 

“That you’ve been fake sleeping when she comes to visit. She won't be too happy about that.”

“And tell me, why you are worried about my standing with her?” Claude was sitting up, leaning his back against the headboard. He shrugged his shoulders.

“Just because it will all work in my favor in the end.” Felix propped himself up slowly, wincing at the pain in his arms and his hand.

“Oh I see, you are hoping that she's more angry with me about trying to avoid her than the fact that you drugged her and caused her to mistrust you?” Claude’s face became fixated with worry. During the mini talk sessions they had when he was awake he tried to gauge the damage he caused her. Normally he could get a good read on her subtle expressions. As of late, her expressions left him with unimaginable doubt. She just asked how he was doing and then went on about her day. She was extremely worried about them, but also seemed strangely calm which could not compute in his complex mind. Not only should she be fuming with rage from his poor decisions, but he also did not keep his part of his word to her. 

“I’m sure that she is equally angry with the point alone that we did not head her wishes and ended up in this situation.” Manuela was quietly listening to their conversation. Earlier she could not believe her ears when she heard about what Claude had done. Why would he go to such lengths to keep the professor away if he was supposed to be defusing the bomb? The question that was on everyone’s minds. Even when they were being questioned they both wouldn't directly say what went on. Manuela attempted on many occasions to get them to spill the beans. To no avail, they would not speak on it. Manuela was sorting out some supplies as she continued to think to herself.

_ ‘Those two are so stubborn. Whatever happened between them must be very serious… Professor said before that Claude was supposed to be the voice of reason. I’ve never seen her ask Claude what happened either… does she… know what happened?’ _ She stacked the packages of cotton swabs on top of each other in the cabinet.  _ ‘It doesn't make sense, she wouldn't have known what happened unless she was there. If she was there she would have stopped them from fighting. She couldn't have been there because of Claude’s little scheme. What is going on here?’  _

“She knew that I was going to fight you to the fullest. You couldn't keep up your end. There is no way she’s going to be angrier with me.” Felix responded to Claude’s statement.

“You are the reason I-” Claude bit his tongue. He wanted to defend himself, but he couldn't with Manuela in the room. He could tell she perked up when he started his reasoning. He rolled his eyes. “Well, you know what you said. Just wait until we graduate. No one will stop me next time.”

“Stop you from what?” Manuela quickly turned her head to the door. Felix and Claude were deathly still as their beloved professor walked into the room. Her presence seemed to suck all the air out of the room. Manuela broke the silence.

“Hello professor, how are you doing?”

“Good evening Professor Manuela. I just came from my summons. I came by since I was already over here to see if my students were doing well,” Byleth pulled up a chair to the foot of their beds and took a seat, “We need to talk.” She said slightly demanding their attention. Manuela could see that Felix was avoiding eye contact and Claude was breaking into a cold sweat. “So, Claude. What were you going to do that someone may or may not need to be there to stop you from doing?”

“Good morning Teach, you look as radiant as ever. What did I miss in class today?” 

“Pathetic,” Felix scoffed at Claude’s attempt to ease Byleth. Byleth noted that Felix was indeed awake.

“Felix, I’m so happy to see that you have finally awoken. Please, don't let me keep you from sleeping,” she said without looking at him. He scratched his head quietly. Byleth sighed deeply. “Manuela, if you don't mind, I would like to have a moment to speak to my students alone.” Manuela nodded. 

“Of course, actually have a date tonight, so I will be heading out,” she said as she strutted to the door. “Good luck you two.” Claude sighed as the only filter that would have stopped this conversation from happening, quickly obliged with Byleth’s request and went on her merry way. The moment the door shut, Byleth crossed her arms.

“So, where do we start?” The room was silent. Byleth tapped her fingers on her arms. Clearly, the two had no intention of speaking about the fight and what transpired. “Okay then, since you both have been missing classes, I have decided that you will be given a chance here to save your grade.”

“We only missed one week of classes, that wouldn't completely damage our grades,” Felix spoke.

“See, that’s where you are incorrect. Since I am the one who determines the weight of your grades I think you would reconsider how the rest of this conversation goes.”

“Are you going to purposefully cause us to fail?”

“I won't be doing anything. You will. Now, here are the terms. You will answer the questions I ask, as we would do in a normal lecture and if you do that you won't have to worry about doing this past week's assignments. If you choose not to answer the questions then I will have you do the assignments. And all of them will be due tomorrow after class.”

“Teach, don't you think that’s a little extreme? We are still recovering from our injuries, how are we going to do a week worth in one day?” Claude asked nervously. Byleth’s face showed not one shred of sympathy. 

“Here I am allowing you two options to save your grade. You would think that was gracious enough. Ah, let me give you an example,” Byleth stood up from her chair and started to pace slowly, “Ask me a question.” The boys looked at each other. Claude spoke up.

“What did you teach in class today?”

“Oh, that’s an easy one. I was lecturing about Authority today. Being as most of you will have battalions assigned to you and a few of your classmates already have one I thought it would be great to have everyone understand how important it is to be a leader and to establish trust, compassion, and strength so that your battalion will proudly fight by your side, under your command. Even though we pay these extra helping hands to fight with us, we shouldn't allow fights to break out between us. We rely on each other, so it is important that we don't fight, whatever the reason. Anything else?”

“What was the meal of the day in the dining hall?” Claude asked.

“Well they had grilled herring today but I went with the super-spicy fish dango today. It was really spicy today.” Felix swallowed hard, remembering that they had to eat liquid meals consisting mostly of broth and soups. It had been a while since he had some good spicy meat.

“What happened with your meet with Lady Rhea?” Felix asked. Claude shot him a look. He was trying to ease into the conversation to try to get out of having this chat. Felix was ready to get it over with. Byleth smiled for a moment before sadness and frustration took over.

“Why, thank you for asking Felix. That is a really good question. It was very nerve-wracking I will say the least. Seteth was very persistent in knowing what happened. You know he even accused me of knowing about your little plan to distract everyone with that feast?”

“What? I never said that! I told him you had nothing to do with that.” Claude exclaimed. Byleth nodded.

“I said the same. He then proceeded to ask me about my whereabouts. I told him that I was grading papers in my room all morning and then when I left my room I sensed that something was wrong and found you two fighting too late to stop you.” Claude froze. Felix was becoming annoyed.

“Why did you try to cover for me? I told them the truth...that I...I”

“I wasn't covering for you, I told them the truth.”

“What? How could you after…”

“I already knew what you were planning and so I decided that I would play along.” Claude was beyond shocked. He thought his plan was solid proof. There was no way she should have known. “Before you ask, I saw you sneak into my room. So I decided to trick you so that you would not try to pull something like that on me again.” Claude was sweating, he was not prepared for what he was hearing. “You were going to be expelled for that you know? How would it look if the head of the Leicester alliance was expelled for drugging his professor? You need to think straight. You are much smarter than that Claude. I hope you have learned a valuable lesson.”

“Your right Teach, thank you.”

“This is ridiculous,” Felix muttered under his breath. Byleth turned her attention to the irritated swordsman. “You seriously think that he should be allowed to stay here even after that? He still attempted to drug you! Why are you letting him off the hook!?” Felix shouted. Byleth remained calm as she spoke.

“Who said that he would go unpunished?”

“He needs to be expelled. He isn't fit to be here or by your side.”

“By my side?” Claude could see that Felix’s pent up anger from before had not diminished. He still wasn't ready to have this conversation. Byleth had already known what was going to be said. She needed to address this. Claude shot a look at Felix.

“Felix now isn't the time. Don't you even dare say what you are going to say.” Felix returned the look Claude so graciously gave him. 

“I don't answer to you! I just don't understand why she is protecting you. You are shrouded in mystery and will do anything to get your way!”

“I did what I thought would be best for all of us. You were the one who so badly wanted to fight. You didn't want her to be there just as much as I did. How else did you plan on stopping her? I didn't want her to get caught up in your little tantrum.”

“It wasn't your decision to make! I would have found a way!”

“Even if you didn't do it my way you would be forcing her to do something she didn't want to do! You can't even be mad. I told you what I did. You could have gone to go wake her but no, you just went on to the training grounds to get ready for a fight that we both knew was against her wishes!”

“That’s enough!” The argument immediately ceased at the sound of her voice. They slowly looked at her irritated face. “Since you both got to ask me questions as a demonstration, let us commence with the lecture.” She took her seat, crossed her legs and leaned forward. “Now, Claude,”

“Yes Teach?”

“You told me that you would not let it go too far, am I correct?”

“Yes...you are correct.”

“Please, inform me why is it that you let it go too far anyway.” Claude didn't want to say it. He still couldn't believe what Felix said to him. It was taking everything in him to not get out of his bed and strangle Felix while he was asleep. Felix could tell that he was going to drag it out. But he also could not accept what Claude said to him. The images of what may or may not have happened between the professor and Claude were all he could see when he closed his eyes. He constantly fought back the urge to electrocute Claude in his bed. Claude scratched his head. “Please don't let me wait too long, your grade will be lowered the longer this takes.”

“Felix...had made a statement to me in which I...could not take lightly…”

“And that statement was?” She tried so very hard to act as if she did not already know. Claude sighed.

“He said...that you two were getting close...and that I always end up around when you two are.” Byleth sighed.

“I see, Felix...Is that true?” Felix’s face became red. He turned his head to the wall.

“I did, so what?”

“Is that why you issued the challenge?”

“I issued the challenge because he is annoying...and yes...because he always seems to get in my way.”

“And where is it that you are trying to go exactly?”

“What kind of question is that? Obviously, I want us to become closer.” Claude cracked his neck.

“Please Teach, if I hear him say it one more time I will have to end him.”

“Claude, why does this bother you?” Byleth asked. He gave her a puppy dog face.

“Teach, you mean after you and I-”

“Don't you even think about mentioning that,” she said blushing. The tone of her voice confirmed Felix’s thoughts.

“Professor, so what he said was true. Those markings on his back...you made those…” Byleth was slowly burning with rage.

“I cannot believe that you even said that to him.” Claude could feel that death was imminent. 

“I wanted him to know that you were mine!” Byleth jumped up, which startled both of them. “He told me that you two kissed two times! What about him?” Felix remembered spilling his own tea to hurt Claude’s ego. Byleth was blushing again. Claude couldn't believe her reaction. “So it's true! So even after what we did you still went on to kiss him? I wasn't enough?” Something clicked inside his head. “I see, he’s your vanilla and sugar isn't he?” Byleth was heated up. All three of them were mad, but she was mad most of all.

“Listen. Yes, I laid with Claude. Yes, I have kissed Felix. I don't know what is up with me that when I get around you two alone I can't control myself. I care for the both of you so much. But understand this, I do not, by any means, belong to either of you. I am your professor you are my students. That is how it is and that is how it will stay. From now on we are going to keep it that way, am I understood?”

“Whatever,” Felix said.

“But I can't-”

“Claude now is not the time to test the waters, you are already in deep enough.”

“Yes, Teach, understood.”

“Good. Now as far as my punishment goes for the both of you for disobeying my wishes, Claude you will be stuck in the chapel helping the monks with their duties.”

“Teach, please, anything but that. You know I dislike people who blindly follow-”

“And for you Felix, I am going to assign you a battalion for a while.”

“What? I do better alone.”

“You will learn how hard it is to lead those who choose to fight their way regardless of the consequences. I believe your father will be supplying your unit. He will be here in a few days to personally deliver them to you.”

“You know how much I hate-”

“Seteth will have his punishments for us so I hope you both get better soon. And if I haven't made it very clear, this stays between us. Have a good night boys,” Byleth said before heading back to her room. Claude and Felix sat in silence. They were both angry at each other but realized that she had a point. 

“I won't lose,” Felix stated. Claude was annoyed at the sound of his voice.

“What?”

“You don't deserve her, you could never give her what I can.” A devious smirk crept across Claude’s face. 

“You already know how I am when it comes to her and yet you still dare to challenge me?” Felix shrugged him off as he laid back in his bed.

“I won't hold back, not even a little.” Claude chuckled.

“I wouldn't have it any other way.”


End file.
